Child Support and Commissions

[pawn]

Thanks guys for the great advice and heads up. This has been my job for the last decade, and at my age changing jobs is not an option. It's an amazing system to think that 2 BIO parents have brought these kids into this world and don't pay a red cent, and the loco parent who has fully custody of his own child (receiving no support) and already paying for the step kids, should be put in a position where I may not have the means to support myself and my child. And the family that's getting the support and now demanding a huge increase in CS are so well off it's not funny. I have filled out a form 13.1 along with all supporting documents, both bio parents names and addresses. We will see

Question, can I try and make a deal with their lawyer? Im not suggesting a figure under what I am paying or under the tabled amounts, but something slightly above tabled amounts, of 2008 income tax return tabled amount (That would be double this years) but 2007 was double that, so at least i would be cutting it in half.

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

#1StepMom has a valid worry as this does happen, equally it does happen that CS is reduced, in our case dad's EI ran out and at the time work was hard to find. We gave half a dozen news clippings of local employment stats, plus government stats showing our area was below the national average.
The judge allowed a temporary support order of $0, to be adjusted immediately upon attaining income and that dad show proof he is actively seeking employment.
We were allot luckier than #1StepMom, but it can swing both ways depending on the history you present and how strong you present and stand by your position that this CS order would cause financial hardship. Don’t leave any assumptions up to the judge, they won’t do the math even though it’s obvious to a monkey what will happen if the courts order $4100 and you only make $1700. Make a point of showing what your bills presently are in a point form chart, then add the present CS amount and show the deficit then with CS relative to your actual "present" income. I think if you stress that you would be forwarding all attempts at bettering your income to the other party and that you would immediately return the matter to court when you secure a better paying position to increase CS the courts may sway in your favour.
Isn't it terrible how "ify" the family law system can be? You almost have to pray for a miracle in order to get a fair shake.
Best of luck to you there is a possibility that you'll have some reprieve in support until things get better.

[pawn]

Thanks Stepmom, I am hoping for the best and am expecting the worst.

[#1StepMom]

A word of warning (sorry to be discouraging)...

Be prepared to have income imputed to you. My hubby lost his job, was unable to obtain a salaried position, so he obtained one of the many commission-only positions which were offered to him, hoping it would work out. (After all, he has child support to pay, not to mention all other expenses!) Well, regardless of the many documents presented to the court demonstrating how much he had actually made in commissions, what his expenses are, etc. the judge decided to impute income to him at over $10,000/annum more than what he is actually making currently, because she felt that he should be able to obtain such a higher paying job given his education/licenses. The print outs showing the dozens of daily applications for various positions, letters from institutions saying "sorry, but we put the search for a candidate for this position on hold" meant nothing to her. It's as if the entire state of today's economy was irrelevant. And there was very little we could do about changing her mind on the subject. We now have to wait another 3 months until our next court hearing with regards to this issue, and in the meantime find ways to pay an amount in child support much higher than we can afford.

[pawn]

Thanks, I have a court date in late April, I will be representing myself. We will see then how the system holds up. So far, it's been stacked against me. The countries goal of a fair system has made so many rules, and removed judges from equation, leaving rare situations falling between the cracks. Thanks for your advice!

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

You should be able to bring your most recent pay stubs or bank deposits showing the actual income and seek to have a reduction in support.
How can a court order support @ $4140 when the income total is only $1735?
Because they did order it and it is obviously beyond your means, I would seek an emergency motion to reduce it due to the huge financial ramifications it is causing.

[pawn]

They won't let me use my last years tax return by it's self, They demand a 3 year average which is twice my 2008 income. The system fails for commissioned incomes. This year will be half again of last year making my payments 4 times tabled amounts, but on commissions, you don't know your income till the year is up. So this year will be a nightmare. Leaving me in the red with full custody of my only bio child, receiving no child support, paying CS to grandparents while there are 2 bio parents out there paying nothing. Commissions should be a pay as you go, especially when you have full custody, and are responsible for the welfare of a small boy when the ex wife disappears. The system should never but a man in a situation where he doesn’t have the money to live. The undue hardship is fine, if you know your income. To Date 2009 Income $1,735.00, child support demand $4,140.00. They claim that my income will increase, and demand a 3 year average. A slow death to commission sale men / woman. GP’s income is 5 times mine.

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

As previously stated, if this were to be taken to court, and is customary regardless, is, if the income significantly fluctuates from year to year, then a three year average is to be used. The fact that he has several offers of which I would expect him to choose the best for him, the situation is still the same.

Three year average for now, then once he has excepted an offer, his employer can project an average income based on historical new hires in order for you to use the existing year's average plus the last two then average them.
And continue to do this until he has worked three consecutive years with this company, then again an average would have to be used given the nature.
I do not think that there will come a time where an average is not used given the circumstances since there may be good years and there may be bad years unless he changes to a salary income.

[#1StepMom]

I would assume that they would take the average of the NC's last 3 years of filed taxes and base it from that.

Yeah, that's what I assumed. However my fiance's case is unique. Two of the last three years, his income depicts only part-time and summer jobs, as he was a full-time student. His income for 2007 is 4 month's short of a full year's salary at the employer he was with before losing his job.

Now, he has had several job offers, all of which are commissions only. That is the nature of his field. He plans on accepting one of these offers (it's an excellent offer)... but we're unsure as to how an amount of child support will be calculated in this case.

If only we could just call up our lawyer and ask him these questions. But unfortunately, being the only employed adult in our household, and FRO continuing to drain our account with child support deductions as they were when my fiance was employed (we have a court date next month)... we cannot afford this luxury.

[Kimberley]

I would assume that they would take the average of the NC's last 3 years of filed taxes and base it from that.

[#1StepMom]

Does anyone know how child support is calculated if the payor's income is solely based on commissions (no base salary)?

Commission income fluctuates not only yearly, but monthly as well.

Is there a way to calculate child support payments for such circumstance?